The DMNW Shambhala Stage-by-Stage Preview: The Amp & The Living Room

Themed stages at a festival aren’t anything new, especially for a festival in its 19th iteration. But, there’s something to doing it better than the rest, and there’s no doubting the unique energy and atmosphere that surrounds the six stages at Shambhala Music Festival. Custom-built for The Farm, each of the stages at Shambhala bring something different to the festival, with the end-result being incredible experiences and memories for thousands.

Each year these stages are curated by talented people who pair the locale with some of the best talent in dance music. This year is no different, with dozens of fan-favorites making their way to Shambhala this summer. So, we decided to take a look at what exactly we’ll be in store for at The Farm this year, checking out the artists each stage will be hosting for the weekend.

We’ve checked out The Village and The Grove, and now we’re daydreaming about the four days of music we’ll get from The Amphitheatre and The Living Room stages. Providing the party-tunes for the early-arrivals at Shambhala, The Amp and The Living Room are two stages attendees find themselves at far more often than they initially expect, with good reason. With one located in the heart of the festival, and the other along the Salmo River, these stages are two of the main ingredients in the recipe that makes Shambhala as delectable as it is.

The Amphitheatre

As we mentioned before, The Amphitheatre and Living Room stages are the only stages open for four full days of music at Shambhala this year. The Amp opens at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, and features a deep lineup of fan-favorites all-day long. Stylust Beats performs the first of his two sets this summer at 1:30 p.m. Shortly afterward, SkiiTour also takes the stage for the first of two performances at Shambhala this year, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The duo is followed by, you guessed it, another act with two sets at the festival, when the Fort Knox Five perform at 5 p.m.

Space Jesus returns to Shambhala with a set at 10:30 p.m. that we won’t be missing. El Papachango also performs the first of two sets at Shambhala 2016 at 1:30 a.m., and the stage closes at 6 a.m. The fun on Friday will begin at 3:30 p.m., and several acts are on our radar.

Perkulat0r gets our juices bubbling and we can’t wait for the Vancouver-native’s set at The Amp at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Later that night, The Gaslamp Killer and Frenchman STWO are giving us a bad case of the ‘set-time conflicts’ when they perform at midnight at 1:30 a.m. respectively. Regardless of how conflicted we are, we will be making our way to The Amp for a portion EPROM’s set at 3 a.m.

Saturday begins with a set from BC-native Sean Rodman at 1 p.m. Highlights from the third day of music from The Amp include performances from dubstep pioneer Plastician at 7:30 p.m. and Alix Perez at 10:30 p.m. The stage will close after a set from Vancouver’s Taal Mala from 4:30 a.m. – 6 a.m.

The stage re-opens at 3 p.m. for a day full of acts that we will force into our already-packed schedules for the final day of Shambhala. We will be finding it hard to peel ourselves away from The Amp from midnight – 6 a.m. on Sunday, with four great acts calling us to the stage. Troyboi‘s second set of the festival begins at midnight, and he’s followed by the ever-bassy Bleep Bloop at 1:30 a.m.

The stage closes out with Yheti taking the stage at 3 a.m., and local-favorite Longwalkshortdock closing out the stage from 4:30 a.m. – 6 a.m. The Amp is absolutely stacked this year, and one of the many reasons we’re happy to be showing up on Wednesday and enjoying four days of music from the stage this summer.

About DMNW

Dance Music Northwest is an award-winning media company, providing our users editorials, new music, events, club and DJ listings, and nightlife intelligence. Dance Music Northwest also actively lobbies for common sense harm reduction measures at the individual, festival, and city levels.